Sviatoslav Richter : Notebooks and Conversations - Hardcover

Monsaingeon, M. Bruno

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0571205534 ISBN 13: 9780571205530

Publisher: Faber and Faber, 2001

Synopsis

Throughout a life dedicated to music, Richter maintained a stubborn silence about his own ideals and aspirations. Here at last he opens up his heart, both in an exceptional interview, and in his private musical Journals. Bruno Monsaingeon - renowned for his documentary films - became close to Richter not long before the pianist's death in 1995, and assembled the memories of his childhood, and his early career for the film on which this book is based. Richter recounts what it was like to be an 'artist of the people', his meetings with Russian performers and composers - Oistrakh, Rostropovich, Gilels, Prokofiev, Shostakovich - and his rise to international acclaim. The pianist's personal Journals, kept for nearly thirty years, constitute an unparalleled witness to the music of our time. He notes with precision, humour and clarity his reactions to concerts, operas, fellow musicians - even his own recordings. Richter is uninhibitedly himself. These are the private thoughts of a nonconformist, one of the greatest performers of the century, yet one whose life was bound inextricably to the history of the USSR.

About this title

Review:

"'To Richter (no first name necessary), warm greetings to the best planist in the Soviet Union - indeed in the whole world.' Prokofiev"

Synopsis:

Throughout a life dedicated to music, Sviatoslav Richter maintained a stubborn silence about his own ideals and aspirations. In this book he opens up his heart, both in an exceptional interview with Bruno Monsaingeon (renowned for his documentary films), and in his own private music journals, which he kept for nearly 30 years. Richter recounts what it was like to be an "artist of the people", his meetings with Russian performers and composers - Oistrakh, Rostropovich, Gilels, Prokoviev, Shostakovich - and his rise to international acclaim. The pianist's personal journals constitute an unparalleled witness to the music of our time. He notes with precision, humour and clarity, his reactions to concerts, operas, fellow musicians, even his own recordings. These are the private thoughts of a nonconformist, one of the greatest performers of the century, and one whose life was bound inextricably to the history of the USSR.

About this edition

• Publisher: Faber and Faber
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0571205534
• ISBN 13: 9780571205530
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464